Update from Japan Earthquake and Tunami Relief Fund

Thanks to you who purchased our charity items for Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund, we have made donations through Globalgiving.com three times so far.

Here is the update from one of the project we support.

ShelterBox were highly praised for their response by Japanese families and authorities.
Six months ago on March 11 at 05:46 local time Japan was struck by a 9 magnitude earthquake with the epicentre 120km off its north-eastern coast. The earthquake generated a tsunami devastating coastal communities with the most severe damage in three districts: Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima.

ShelterBox were one of the first aid agencies to respond and were able to operate within the country due to their ability to work self-sufficiently. Within 24 hours of the disaster happening the first ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) was on the ground where they worked with the authorities to assess the areas of most need. Since then 1,680 boxes have been deployed to the area.

The speed, adeptness of the response and extent of aid delivered reserved special praise from the Japanese authorities that expressed their ‘deepest respect’ for ShelterBox’s work. The British Embassy in Tokyo has since sought specialist advice from ShelterBox regarding the most effective methods to operate in such an emergency.
During a recent visit made by ShelterBox, the mayor of Yamamoto-Cho, said that the tents provided by ShelterBox were made even more crucial by the lack of provisions from the Japanese government and other tent manufacturers whose resources had been strained due to the disaster.

John Leach, Head of Operations at ShelterBox, was present at the visit and said: ‘The Japanese were especially grateful for the tents as even in evacuation centres they were using them as private spaces and sleeping areas for families. This is incredibly important for morale and has given families a sense of dignity in the aftermath of disaster.

“A handful of families were still living in ShelterBox tents as temporary accommodation was being built. But the presence of ShelterBox tents within the past six months has no doubt played a massive role in supporting these families while the country recovers.”

7 months have passed since the 9.1 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami hit Japan, yet they are still struggling to recover from the disaster.
Domo will keep supporting Japan. Please support our effort to help Japan rebuild.